Photo by: Bob Heathcote
Rahal Finishes 16th in Sao Paulo
SAO PAULO (April 29, 2012) – Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR) driver Graham Rahal finished 16th in the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 on the Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The result comes in at his 81st IZOD IndyCar Series career start and second at Sao Paulo.
Rahal started the 75-lap race from the sixth position and showed strength early-on by advancing two positions within the first lap on the 2.536-mile, 11-turn street circuit. Rahal spent 17 of the initial 18 laps in fourth alongside Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dario Franchitti, in second, and -0.39 seconds behind Scott Dixon, in third. Rahal ran in the top-five for 20 laps, running as high as third on laps. Coming off a four-lap caution period on lap 27, Rahal was forced to take evasive action into the run-off when an on-track incident took place in front of him. Shortly after, Rahal suffered a drive through penalty for a pit lane speed violation. With only eight laps remaining, Rahal was collected in an eight-car pile-up on the fourth restart of the race causing him to drop from ninth to 17th. On the fifth and final restart he managed to gain a position to finish 16th.
With the result, Rahal is now 12th in the IZOD IndyCar Series point standings with 76 markers, 104 points out of the top spot.
Up next, Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing will compete in the Indianapolis 500 from Indianapolis on Sunday, May 27 (12:00 pm ET on ABC).
SSCGR Quoteboard Graham Rahal: “Overall it was a tough day for the Service Central team. We couldn't catch a break today and things just did not go our way. We had a fast car but I guess it wasn't our day."
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